Electorate of Saxony

The Electorate of Saxony was a state of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from 1356 to 1806, with Wittenberg serving as its capital until 1423 (in use as an alternative capital until 1547), Meissen until 1464, and Dresden until 1806. Saxony was created when Emperor Karl IV of Germany elevated the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to an electorate, and the House of Wettin came to rule the electorate in 1423 after the House of Ascania went extinct. The Wettin dynasty moved the electoral residence to Dresden, and Saxony remained a powerful German electorate until it was elevated to become the Kingdom of Saxony after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.